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Expert C Programming Paperback – 14 Jun 1994

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Peter van der Linden (Author)
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Peter van der Linden (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 40 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 01 edition (14 Jun. 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0131774298
  • ISBN-13: 978-0131774292
  • Product Dimensions: 18.8 x 2.3 x 22.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 159,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Defying the stereotypical notion that technical books tend to be boring, Expert C Programming offers a lively and often humorous look at many aspects of C--from how memory is laid out to the details of pointers and arrays. The author reveals his points through invaluable anecdotes, such as stories of costly bugs, and through folklore, such as the contents of Donald Knuth's first publication. Each chapter ends with a section entitled "Some Light Relief," which discusses topics (topics that some may consider to be "recreational"), such as programming contests. A fabulous appendix on job interview questions finishes the book. --Jake Bond

From the Back Cover

This is a very different book on the C language! In an easy, conversational style, Peter van der Linden, of Sun's compiler and OS kernel group, presents dozens of astonishing examples drawn from practical experience, including:

  • Software that blew up the space probe to Venus
  • The C bug that shut down the entire AT&T phone system
  • C programmer job interview secrets
  • Why programmers can't tell Halloween from Christmas day
  • The C code for a complete BASIC interpreter

Expert C Programming reveals the coding techniques used by the best C programmers. It relates C to other languages, and includes an introduction to C++ that can be understood by an programmer without weeks of mind-bending study. Covering both the IBM PC and UNIX systems, it is an entertaining and educational romp through C showing how experts really use it. Expert C Programming is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the implementation, practical use, and folklore of C.

"Not just clearly written, but fun to read. The tone and style of this text should make this a popular book with professional programmers. However, the tone of this book will make it very popular with undergraduates. Appendix A alone would make the purchase of this book a must. It's filled with great advice."

―Professor Jack Beidler, Chairman, Department of Computer Science, University of Scranton

"So that's why extern char *cp isn't the same as extern char cp. I knew that it didn't work despite their superficial equivalence, but I didn't know why. I also love the job interview test questions on C."

―David S. Platt, Rolling Thunder Computing

"In Expert C Programming, Peter van der Linden combines C language expertise and a subtle sense of humor to deliver a C programming book that stands out from the pack. In a genre too often known for windy, lifeless prose, van der Linden's crisp language, tongue-in-cheek attitude, and real-world examples engage and instruct."

―John Barry, author of Sunburst, Technobabble, and other books

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsLearn from experience in the book.
By A Customer on 21 July 1999
Format: Paperback
I wrote C for ten years eight hours a day. This book accumulates what I have learned over this time period and even had something new for me.
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5.0 out of 5 starsRecommended!
By A Customer on 29 Mar. 1999
Format: Paperback
I liked this book, especially the way he comes up with funny phrases you don't see coming. I've read several other programming books (Safer C, Writing Solid Code, No Bugs!, etc), but this is definitely one of the ones that is enjoyable to read. It adds a light humour to the serious, useful information he provides.
He goes into depth into the subjects of C declarations, memory, pointers, and arrays. He also explains some of the concepts behind the procedure activation record (used when calling a function), linking and compiling. He also challenges the reader with programming assignments to discover more, and provides programming advice.
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5.0 out of 5 starsmore guff
By A Customer on 3 Aug. 1998
Format: Paperback
The reader below might be surprised to learn that Expert C Programming was written several years before Java was thought of. Far from being a criticism of C designed to move readers to Java, Expert C is a tribute to the beauty of C, and makes no mention of Java whatsoever.
Honestly! The stuff I have to put up with!
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3.0 out of 5 starsAn intermediate book
By A Customer on 27 Jun. 1998
Format: Paperback
The title of this book is somewhat misleading. If you are an expert or advanced user of the C language you will probably be disappointed with this book. It is really a book in the beginner to intermediate range. A great amount of the material is useless C trivia and folklore. There is a very minimal amount of code in the book. Learning the correct way to free a singly-linked list and how to declare arrays and function pointers is by no means in the "expert" category in my opinion. Much of the material in this book is presented in a first semester course on programming and all of the topics that are superficially covered in this tiny book are better explained in other books.
I found about 4 to 5 pages of useful information in the book and the rest was just fluf. If you want to learn about operating systems, assembly language, pointers and dynamic memory management, data structures, or algorithms, then get books that deal with topics explicitly. You wont find that kind of information in this little book. This book concerns itself with topics that show how to unscramble poorly written code like: z = y+++x; I dont know anyone who writes code like that!
If your still having trouble with arrays and pointers, then this book can be of help, otherwise I dont think the price of this book is justified.
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5.0 out of 5 starsNearly twenty years, and still valid.
By Øystein Schønning-Johansen on 4 Sept. 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I've been coding C for many, many years, and didn't expect that a 20 year old book could give me much news. However, this book took my understanding to a new level. It's also full of humor and good stories, which makes it really entertaining to read. Thank you, Peter, for writing such a fantastic book.

Peter? What about a second edition which covers C99 and C11?
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4.0 out of 5 starsGenerally excellent, but marred by lots of typos
By A Customer on 18 Mar. 1999
Format: Paperback
This book is an extremely valuable discussion of a variety of topics about the C language that are poorly described in other books, ranging from how to read complicated typedefs to how your C program compiles and runs on the computer. The material on C++ is quite dated (the book dates from 1994). However, the most annoying thing is the large number of typos. There is a whole figure missing on one page, and there are numerous smaller typos (mostly obvious) throughout the text. There are two big errata sheets on the author's web site for previous editions, but many of these were not fixed in the most recent edition either. My advice to the author: hire a competent proofreader. Also, readers should note that the author's offer to pay $1 for mistakes in the book reported to him DOES NOT apply to typos, only to technical corrections.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExceptional - Hope the author writes a similar book for Java
By A Customer on 28 Sept. 1997
Format: Paperback
I have programmed in C for more than 5 years before moving onto Java recently. Had this book been available when I was learning C, my life would have been more pleasant then. Though, it is not a beginner's book it gives insights into idiomatic C programming like no other book. (By the way, I have a collection of at least 10 books on C.) In short, I would not think twice about buying this book. Even if you are not programming in C, you should buy this book. It will surely fill you with nostalgia of those days, when all your worries were about dangling pointers and memory leaks. I know that the same author has written two books on Java, but they are more for beginners. I fervently hope the author writes a similar inspiring book for Java.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA fine supplment to a C programmer's library.
By A Customer on 13 May 1997
Format: Paperback
There are those times when reading for enjoyment is merited. van der Linden's conversational style allied with the wealth of topics he covers makes this a fun read. Much of the legend, lore and myths of the C language are explored. K&R explain "how" and PvdL tells you "why" and sometimes "whodunit". The drawback to this book is the sometimes extreme Sun-centricity, not surprising considering the author's employment. He's also had to revise his previous condescending remarks about the need to fetch a key (without a newline), dismissing it as only applicable for "games programming."
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsOutdated

A wonderful collection of anecdotes but awfully dated now.

Published 20 days ago by Marc Draco
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Delivered promptly and goods were as specified
Recommended

Published 2 months ago by Horse
4.0 out of 5 starsTha book is amazing.

The quality of the binding of the book is rubbish. Tha book is amazing.

Published 4 months ago by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Almost o.k.

Published 4 months ago by Bojan
5.0 out of 5 starsthe contents and the tips on C are extremely useful. It is also a fun...

Even though it sometimes references things that are not modern, the contents and the tips on C are extremely useful. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Domenico Fabio Marino
5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the best C books ever

I re-read this all the time. One of the best C books ever.

Published 7 months ago by Joseph
5.0 out of 5 starsA must read!

This is most likely the best programming book I have ever read.

It is full of incredible detail and the author's knowledge really shines through. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book will increase your geekiness level by 10 points.

I've put this book #9 in my Top 100 Programming, Computer and Science books list:

http://www.catonmat. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Peteris Krumins
5.0 out of 5 starsVery usefeul

An excellent introduction to hidden aspects of the language and the build process of program, for those who already know the C language.

Published 22 months ago by Matteo Emanuele
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

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Published 23 months ago by shiraz

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